"I've seen Jodie's first scene as the Doctor, and trust me we are in for a thrill ride," he added. "She is already brilliant."

Teasing how Jodie has managed to strike that all-important balance between the new and the familiar, Steven said: "In such a tiny moment, she's given us the Doctor we've always known, but in, to say the least, a new way. We are in for a very exciting run."

"A moment like this of being the first woman cast as something, it makes you really think about your sex, whereas actually what you want to do is play a part where your gender is irrelevant," the actress recently admitted.

"I am a woman, so I don't need to play that. And so for me, this was the most freeing experience because there's no right or wrong way to do it. The rules went out the window."